New Hard Drive: 2MB cache vs. 8MB Cache

  • Thread starter Thread starter Purp1e
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Purp1e

I'm looking into getting a new drive.

Is their a real advantage in getting a drive with 8MB cache rather than 2MB
cache?

I recently had a Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 80GB drive with 8MB cache, which I
found dealt with intense operations very quickly but would take a long time
to open folders on the hard drive. For example, the root directory would
take a couple of seconds to access. Is this a common complaint with 8MB
cache drives?

In addition, which drive would you all recommend for a budget of around
£60-£80?

Incidentally, I don't have any SATA capability.

Kind Regards,

Matt Boulton
 
I'm looking into getting a new drive.
Click to expand...

Tad radical.
Is their a real advantage in getting a drive
with 8MB cache rather than 2MB cache?
Click to expand...

That can get you a 3 year instead of a 1 year warranty
and the price difference can be trivial. Certainly if you
arent paying much for it, its certainly worth having.
I recently had a Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 80GB drive with
8MB cache, which I found dealt with intense operations very
quickly but would take a long time to open folders on the hard drive.
Click to expand...

Thats unlikely to be anything to do with the 8MB cache.
For example, the root directory would take a couple of seconds
to access. Is this a common complaint with 8MB cache drives?
Click to expand...

Nope. Must be some other problem.
In addition, which drive would you all
recommend for a budget of around £60-£80?
Click to expand...

I like the WDs myself.
 
That can get you a 3 year instead of a 1 year warranty
and the price difference can be trivial. Certainly if you
arent paying much for it, its certainly worth having.
Click to expand...

Which drives have a 3 year warranty?
 
" In addition, which drive would you all recommend for a budget of around
£60-£80? "


I have not long finished my first home-build, and I opted for a new 80GB
ATA-100 Western Digital Caviar with 8MB Cache, picked up from a components
dealer on eBay for £70.
 
How good is the WD1200BB?
Click to expand...

Very decent.
That's the 120 gig with 2 MB cache.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I wouldnt pay a lot for a JB, but I'd certainly
take the JB if there wasnt much in it price wise.

I doubt few if any could pick the 8MB cache in a
proper double blind trial. The extra 2 year warranty
can be handy tho if you arent paying much for it.
 
In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage Purp1e said:
I'm looking into getting a new drive.
Click to expand...
Is their a real advantage in getting a drive with 8MB cache rather than 2MB
cache?
Click to expand...

Not really from a technical side (unless you use an OS with
very bad/no buffering like MSDOS). But some manufacturers give
3 years warranty for some 8MB models but only 1 year for all
2MB models (Maxtor, Seagate, maybe others).

I recently had a Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 80GB drive with 8MB cache, which I
found dealt with intense operations very quickly but would take a long time
to open folders on the hard drive. For example, the root directory would
take a couple of seconds to access. Is this a common complaint with 8MB
cache drives?
Click to expand...

Which OS? Without this info (precise!) no statement can be made.
In addition, which drive would you all recommend for a budget of around
£60-£80?
Click to expand...

At the moment A Seagate 7200.7 120GB with 8MB cache. I am not sure
whether that still fits the budget, but it is one of the dirves with
long warranty, and the seagates run less hot and a little bit more
quiet that maxtor.

Arno
 
Depends on the operating system. For Win98 I would try to find a 20 Gig
DRive. WinXP can handle larger drives better. Make sure you are using a
80 wire data cable and the Ultra DMA ATA 100/133 drivers are installed.
Also make sure DMA is working on your hard drive. A 40 Gig Hard drive
might be faster.
 
Depends on the operating system. For
Win98 I would try to find a 20 Gig DRive.
Click to expand...

Mindlessly silly, Win98 will handle anything currently buyable fine.
WinXP can handle larger drives better.
Nope.

Make sure you are using a 80 wire data cable
and the Ultra DMA ATA 100/133 drivers are installed.
Also make sure DMA is working on your hard drive.
A 40 Gig Hard drive might be faster.
Click to expand...

No might about it.
 
Depends on the operating system. For Win98 I would try to find a 20 Gig
DRive. WinXP can handle larger drives better. Make sure you are using a
80 wire data cable and the Ultra DMA ATA 100/133 drivers are installed.
Also make sure DMA is working on your hard drive. A 40 Gig Hard drive
might be faster.
Click to expand...

I am using a Western Digital 120 gig HD with Windows 98SE, and my BIOS does
not handle more than 32 gigs.


-Barry
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